The Charm School
Previous episode: Ricky Minds the Baby Next episode: Sentimental Anniversary http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/GradedPosture.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/GlamourLucy.jpg LucyEthelBike_large.jpg 5be820bd8b9bc7e1027446d70d69ed62.jpg photoweek116b.jpg 0906647001.jpg i-love-lucy-the-charm-school.png c1dc2c3025afc7a8a16022bf5f76289d.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/GlamourEthel.jpg Plot After Lucy and Ethel are snubbed by their husbands at a party over the sophisticated Eve Whitney, the girls decide to take a lesson from Eve and enroll in Phoebe Emerson's Charm School. They primp and practice all week, transforming themselves into elegant and refined ladies. Fred and Ricky are shocked when they see their wives' new look, so the fellas decide to show their partners how asinine they look by dressing in frilly, old-fashioned attire. All of them decide to go back to their usual selves and they proceed in messing up everyone's hairdo. Well, everyone's hair except Fred's, of course. What's Their CQ? Lucy and Ethel enrolled in Phoebe Emerson's Charm School program after they received their less-than-stellar results on their CQ. What's a CQ? It stands for "charm quotient," and it's a free analysis Phoebe Emerson will grade you on upon entering her institution. There are four parts of the CQ, each worth 25 points, making a total of 100 possible points. Here is the order you are graded on: 1. Hair 2. Skin and make-up 3. Posture 4. Voice While we don't know Lucy and Ethel's individual scores on each section, we do know that Ethel got 32 points and Lucy got 30. What we also know is that Ethel probably scored higher than Lucy on the skin/make-up section, due to the whole powder fiasco. Trivia *Natalie Schafer, who plays Phoebe Emerson, is best known for her future role as Eunice "Lovey" Wentworth Howell on Gilligan's Island. *The basic plot of the beginning of this episode was used for a flashback intro made for a rerun episode. The women and men are talking to members of their own sex, and when they try to talk to the opposite sex, they have nothing to say and quickly return to talking to members of their own gender. *At the Ricardos' party, the men talk about color TV in the future. ''I Love Lucy ''never was made in color because, supposedly, Jess Oppenheimer said that color wasn't needed in a comedy show, unless it enhanced the comedy. *To date, very few episodes of "I Love Lucy" exist in color: the Christmas special (1990, re-mastered in 2013), "Lucy Goes To Scotland" (colorized in 2008), "Lucy's Italian Movie" (colorized in 2013), "Job Switching" (colorized in 2014), and "Lucy Does a TV Commercial (colorized in 2015). *The four categories on the free charm school analysis were make-up, hair, posture, and voice. *The slinky black charm school dress Lucy wears will be worn again when she tries to "vamp" Cousin Ernie as the "wicked city woman." *The actress who played Eve Whitney really was named Eve Whitney in real life. Her real-life husband was Eddie Maxweel, the man who wrote the lyrics to Desi's song "There's a Brand-New Baby in Our House." *This is the sexiest we ever see Ethel. Her charm school outfit is a dress that is skin-tight, made of leopard print, and hangs off one shoulder. On her bare shoulder, she wears a golden snake-like coil bracelet. *Lucy's charm school hairdo is her normal bun but pulled to one side, like a sideways ponytail. *We learn that the friend of Lucy and Ethel's who comes to the party Eve Whitney is at is named Louanne Hall. We also learn that her husband's name is Bill. *One comment about the episode's premise: The party itself is a masterful bit of verbal choreography. Lucy's experiment of getting the men and women to talk together is a worthy effort for about ONE minute, as the subject of Bill and his 'date' stopping by begins with all six people talking together and over each other, and gracefully separating into the ladies on the couch, and the men grouping just to the left departing, one by one, back into the kitchen. It continues for a few more seconds before Lucy realizes that they're right back to where they started. Quotes *Lucy: Why does it have to be that way? Why aren't we all in here, talking together? Give me one good reason! Ethel: We're married. *Ethel: Just because we're married to men doesn't mean we've got anything in common. *Lucy: We don't want you in there, we want you in here us. Ricky: Why? Lucy: Because we're married. Fred: What are you trying to do? Rub it in? *Ethel: Well, I'll say this for Whitney- she got 'em out of the kitchen. Lucy: Yes. Apparently, all the old goats needed was a young kid. *Lucy: Good morning. Ethel: What's good about it? Lucy: You're right- BAD morning. *Lucy: Did you ever notice, Ethel, that, whenever he's around a good-looking girl, he becomes more Cuban? The prettier the girl, the thicker the accent. Ethel: That's right. By the end of the evening, I couldn't understand a word he was saying! *Ethel: I thought I'd die when Fred suggested playing Post Office! *Lucy: We've got just as much as Whitney's got, only lots more! Ethel: Yeah, but the "lots more" is in all the wrong places. *Lucy: Listen- Eve Whitney didn't always look like that. Ethel: How do you know? You never saw her before last night. Lucy: Because I heard her talking to Bill Hall when he cornered her and INSISTED on hearing the story of her life. Ethel: How 'bout that? Lucy: Wasn't that nauseating?! *Ethel: Do you think charm school could make a glamour girl out of me? Lucy: Sure. It says right here, "We work miracles." *Phoebe Emerson: Will you please take off your hats? (Lucy and Ethel take off hats) Phoebe: Oh, dear. It must be awfully windy outside! Here's a mirror. Why don't you fix it the way it's supposed to be? (Lucy and Ethel look in mirror to find their hair already fixed correctly) Phoebe: Is that the way it's supposed to be? *Phoebe: Do you always use that color powder? Oh, I don't mean it the way it sounds, of course. It's just that, here, we strive for a fresh, natural look, and that powder gives you a weird, very unnatural look. You know what I mean, of course? Lucy: I'm not wearing powder... *Ricky: Now, what do you think this pleasant surprise could be? Fred: Maybe they're leaving us! *Lucy: Please, Fred. I'll open the door let Ethel in. Fred: Open it? I was gonna LOCK it! *Ricky: (about Glamour Ethel) Who's that? Fred: WHO'S that? WHAT'S that?! *Fred: I was waiting for Ethel to say, "Trick-or-Treat"! *Ethel: Fred never took so long to dress. He must be takin' a bath! *Ricky: (to Lucy) I don't want you well-groomed, charming, and attractive. I want you the way you were!﻿